What do Chewbacca, Louis XVI and Donald Trump have in common? Answers on a postcard please…

Two days before the Presidential Inauguration in Washington, an important unveiling took place in London. This was the moment that the President Elect (as he was then) Donald J Trump took his position amongst other world leaders in the Oval Office section, at Madame Tussauds. The controversial Republican will now reside there, standing next to fellow famous waxy politicians and global icons for the duration of his presidency.

Re-wind six months ago and Madame Tussauds had a big job to do. A team of twenty (made up of highly gifted sculptors, hair insertors and make up artists) started making four Trump figures – one for London, and the other three for Washington D.C., New York and Orlando. General Manager Edward Fuller said; “Since Mr Trump was announced as the victorious candidate our studio team have been frantically busy matching his infamous glowing tan and trademark hairstyle in time for the start of his Presidential reign.”

The trademark hairstyle in particular was a challenge. Speaking to Radio Two’s Chris Evans, waxwork hair and wig stylist Gemma Sim described how they used 25,000 individual strands of Yak’s hair in order to get the right coarse texture for the new president. To be fair Trump’s in good company here, as the wigs for wax work models of Louis XVI and Star Wars’ Chewbacca are also made of the same product. Although the real flesh-and-blood version famously claims to do his hair himself, Gemma has admitted that she’ll be using a lot of hair-spray and back-combing in order to keep the Trump barnet looking its best for the thousands of visitors who flock through the doors daily. When it comes to styling, Gemma confessed that creating Amy Winehouse’s bouffant hair for Madame Tussauds was one of her favourites, but the Trump hair-do is certainly a big hit already. Perhaps it’s only a matter of time before the Trump look becomes one of the trendiest styles on the block!

So if you want to get up close and personal with this contentious character (this one doesn’t talk or tweet!), why not come along to one of our Madame Tussauds London LATES events?